Julian Wilson's much anticipated film Scratching the Surface premiered to a packed house at the Orange County Theatre for Performing Arts this past friday during the US Open in nearby Huntington Beach.


As the red carpet comes into view, nestled up against the corner of a sophisticated looking building in the middle of Orange County, a young bronzed australian with sun bleached blond hair and a puka shell necklace can be seen in the middle of a crowd of photographers and pro surfing's elite. This is the man of the hour, the star of the show. This is Juli.. oh wait no, its Paul Fisher. Fish is possibly the only person who can get away with making fun of absolutely everyone, Julian Wilson being no exception. A lot of anonymous jokes and jabs have been made regarding Julian's choice in man-jewelry, but thus far internet blog and chatrooms were the extent of the ridicule until now. As expected, Fish played up the puka shell at every possible moment, quipping with the likes of Dane Reynolds and Kelly Slater about the fashion statement, and luckily for Julian, he happened to be wearing a collared shirt which hid the subject of Fish's prop-comedy. The question that remains for Julian looking forward: Does he abandon the necklace to avoid ridicule or does he stay true to his values and taste in necklaces? The answer to that question became somewhat less relevant when Julian Showed up minutes later in a black Ferrari, escorted by a herd of smoking hot teenage girls.



The film, and accompanying party, were quite impressive. The soundtrack to the movie touched on almost every genre of music in existence, from 90s punk to electro-glitch-dance-music. The surfing was mind-blowing, which was completely expected at this point, after seeing the trailers and making-of webisodes. And with Red Bull and Quiksilver funding the project, the production value was through the roof. As a snapshot look into the life of Julian Wilson, the film does seem to reflect its star quite accurately; nothing edgey, nothing overly artsy, nothing weird, but very clean and accessible. Just like Julian.